That ‘70s Show : A Realistic Depiction of Sexism

That `70s Show: A Realistic Depiction of Sexism

Meleah Hartnett English 199C April 20, 2018

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I have been a loyal viewer of the hit sitcom, That `70s Show, for years. In total, I have probably watched the entire series two or three times. However, it was not until recently that it struck me how sexist the show was. Upon first watching That `70s Show, I thought it was a surface-level sitcom celebrating the colorful and hazy 1970s. After rewatching and evaluating the stances presented in multiple episodes, however, I see that it is more representative of society's view on women than I originally thought. I believe that both the subtle and obvious sexism in That `70s Show, which is shown throughout the entire series, is an accurate representation of the time period the show is based on and made in, but many of the viewers, including myself, overlook the problematic nature of the show because it is shown in a light hearted and joking manner.

Before I can discuss the realistic depiction of sexism in the show that is based on the 1970s, I should first explain what the 1970s were like as a whole. Bell bottom pants and Star Wars are the first two things that come to mind when I think of the 1970s. However, there was much more to the decade than fashion and fun. After years of protests in the United States, the Vietnam War was drawing to a close, and President Nixon lost the trust of the entire country after the Watergate Scandal. However, what I find to be most important in the 1970s is that women, along with other marginalized groups, continued to fight for their rights.

Sexism was a major issue in the seventies within the United States, and globally. Although women had fought for and gained the right to vote in 1920, there were still inequalities that demanded attention. The wage gap between men and women, along with an abundance of other issues, upset many and led feminist groups to protest for equality. The issues of abortion,

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divorce, and birth control contraceptives were debated heavily during the 1970s. Ultimately, cases like Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion within the first trimester of pregnancy,1 and Eisenstadt vs. Baird legalized the use of contraception throughout the United States.2 The passing of these laws did not end the ongoing oppression of women. These laws simply allowed them more freedom over their bodies. These cases were massive steps forward in the feminist movement, but there was still work to be done and laws to be passed. Inequalities between men and women still crippled the nation, and some of these inequalities exist today. There continues to be a disparity between wages of men and women who work the same jobs. Along with that, women are still treated as less than men in and out of the workplace.

Injustices towards women, like those that actually occurred during the 1970s, are portrayed in That `70s Show as jokes. It is as if the women in the show are only there to be mocked or belittled, if not blatantly then subtly, sometimes almost indistinguishably. An example of this subtle sexism is seen in the character Kitty, the housewife mother. She is seen in a stereotypically feminine profession, nursing, and spends most of her time worrying about household tasks. Whenever the family sits down to have a meal, she is the one in the kitchen cooking it. In one episode, she is called in to work the night shift as a nurse, which her husband is not happy about; he exclaims with concern, "Kitty you work so hard as it is. I do not want you working double shifts."3 Kitty disregards this and explains that she is going to take the shift, and

1 Legal Information Institute. "Roe v. Wade." Cornell Law School. 1992. Accessed March 10, 2018, 2 Sheraden Seward, "Eisenstadt v Baird (1972)," The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, March 12, 2008. Accessed March 19, 2018, 3 David Trainer, That `70s Show, Season 2 episode 8, (1998; Los Angeles, CA: CBS Studio Center), Netflix.

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that she will need to prepare a meal before she goes because her husband is unable to do so. Her husband objects, claiming that he can cook; later he is seen "preparing" dinner for Kitty, which ends up being take-out food. The idea of Kitty's husband cooking is, apparently, laughable. He offers to take over the kitchen duties and the audience is prompted to laugh by a laugh track. I assume the punch line of the joke is the idea of a husband cooking dinner.4 The joking manner of this situation takes attention away from three sexist views in these scenes. The first view, masked in comedy, is that Kitty should not be working as hard as she is because she is a woman. Second, it is implied that her husband has any say in how much she works, even though, if the roles were reversed she would not question him working overtime. The third is that Kitty's role in the family is to cook meals.

Tropes similar to the ones presented in That `70s Show can be seen throughout television history. In fact, Erica Scharrer observes that family dynamics have been a center point in sitcoms for decades.5 She makes an argument that there has been "slow and inconsistent" progress made on television in regard to the sexist portrayal of dynamics between men and women.6 While I understand why she makes this assertion, given that some progressive shows such as Will and Grace aired about the same time as That `70s Show, I would like to counter that sexism in television was still exceedingly prevalent when That `70s Show was on air. Shows like

4 Ibid. 5 Erica Scharrer, "From Wise to Foolish: The Portrayal of the Sitcom Father, 1950s-1990s," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 45, no. 1 (2001): 23-40, accessed March 21, 2018, Academic Search Premier (4422440). 6 Ibid.

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Futurama, Family Guy, a nd even Friends have sexist messages throughout the seasons.7 Scharrer

does make a claim within her paper with which I agree. She discerns that television portrayed

women as working outside of the home more frequently at the time when That `70s Show aired than in previous decades.8 This can be seen in That `70s Show, as Kitty, for part of the show at least, works as a nurse in the hospital.9 Although, even when she is seen in a progressive light by

working outside the home, she still faces sexism because she is told that she works too hard by her husband and is expected to spend more time in the kitchen.10 As a whole, while there may

have been a few exceptions to the norm, the shows made in the 1990s displayed just as sexists of

views as shows made in the decades before.

That '70 Show writes some cultural references of the 1970s into some of the episodes. Some discuss Star Wars,11 others mention Ford's pardoning of Nixon.12 However, the one that

stands out to me is the single episode that mentions the feminist movement. In the episode,

Donna, a main character, takes her boyfriend, Eric, to a feminist rally. The writers of the show

could have left stereotyping out of the episode, but following suit with the rest of the show, the

women taking part in the feminist demonstration are portrayed as unattractive, hyper-masculine,

7 Janna L. Kim et al., "From Sex to Sexuality: Exposing Heterosexual Script on Primetime Network Television," Journal of Sex Research 44, no. 2 (2007): 144-157, accessed March 10, 2018, Academic Search Premier (25138348). 8 Erica Scharrer, "From Wise to Foolish: The Portrayal of the Sitcom Father, 1950s-1990s," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 45, no. 1 (2001): 23-40, accessed March 21, 2018, Academic Search Premier (4422440). 9 David Trainer, That `70s Show, Season 4 episode 18, (1998; Los Angeles, CA: CBS Studio Center), Netflix. 10 Ibid Season 2 episode 8. 11 Ibid Season 1 episode 20. 12 Ibid Season 1 episode 3.

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